Move over Facebook, Instagram is the social networking app redefining photo and video sharing. Instagram is also the fastest growing social network in history and is owned by Facebook. From sharing photos to promoting brand awareness or products, Instagram can fit a wide range of business and personal brands - both content generators and audiences. According to a Pew Research Center study, over 35% of all US adults use Instagram. Why Instagram? All Brands Aboard Instagram inspiration Pushing almost 1 billion active users, Instagram is gaining speed on Facebook popularity. It has 25 million business profiles attract more than 250 million Instagrammers each to its profile. That makes it a behemoth of social media, only behind Facebook and YouTube in terms of social media interaction. It leads other popular apps like Snapchat, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Twitter, and WhatsApp. The opportunities afforded by this reach can mean that an Instagram account with savvy management can have tremendous … [Read more...] about Business Grow Guide: Instagram 101 and Beyond
Style guide
SearchCap: Target partners with Google, Capture leads with calls & 50M Local Guides
Below is what happened in search today, as reported on Search Engine Land and from other places across the web. Target expands voice-commerce relationship with Google to battle AmazonOct 13, 2017 by Greg Sterling Retailer joins Walmart in climbing aboard the Google Express. Google now has 50M Local Guides adding content to Google Maps and SearchOct 13, 2017 by Greg Sterling The number of Guides has grown by 10x in just one year. How to capture urgent leads with call-only ad extensionsOct 13, 2017 by Allen Finn Say more with your call-only ad copy! Columnist Allen Finn discusses how you can leverage callout extensions to earn more calls from prospects in a pinch. The nitty-gritty paid search account health check: Part 1Oct 13, 2017 by Amy Bishop Whether you’re taking on a new account or reviewing one you’ve already been managing, columnist Amy Bishop’s tips will help you uncover optimization opportunities. Using Google Customer Match to optimize PPC … [Read more...] about SearchCap: Target partners with Google, Capture leads with calls & 50M Local Guides
Google now has 50M Local Guides adding content to Google Maps and Search
Google hosted its second Local Guides Summit for the people who contribute content about businesses in their local areas to Google Maps and Search earlier this week. It brought together 150 top contributors from 62 countries to the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2016, there were 75 attendees from 37 countries. Last year, there were 5 million Local Guides around the world. Remarkably, the number has now grown to 50 million — a 10x increase in one year. To attend the Summit, Local Guides needed have attained at least “level 5” (out of 10) and submit an application that included a 1-minute video. A level 5 is someone who has 500 points from making various types of local content and data contributions to Google Maps: ratings, reviews, images, video and so on. Luiz André Barroso, vice president of engineering on Google Maps, delivered the opening Summit keynote, which was essentially an appreciation for the efforts of Local Guides. He discussed the ways in which … [Read more...] about Google now has 50M Local Guides adding content to Google Maps and Search
‘High-quality content’ tips from Google’s own style guides
Google has long stressed the importance of “high-quality content” but has provided little, if any, help for those seeking to create it. Until now. Last month, Google’s Developer Relations Group publicly published five different guides aimed at helping its own creators “striving for high-quality documentation.” And “documentation,” when posted online, means digital content. Now available: Developer Documentation Style Guide HTML/CSS Style Guide JavaScript Style Guide Java Style Guide To put this in context, consider that these documents represent just a few of the many guides Google uses internally. The information provided is not new, unique, original, or even complete. That said, Google’s Developer Documentation Style Guides are an excellent resource for anyone interested in creating the type of high-quality content that users value and search engines reward. Each guide reinforces the idea that high-quality pages — … [Read more...] about ‘High-quality content’ tips from Google’s own style guides
A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Autoresponder
Email autoresponders are the holy grail of marketing. You set up a sequence of emails once and you’re done. Thousands, possibly hundreds of thousands, of people will get exactly the same emails from you, in the same order. This allows you to create an unbelievably consistent level of service. Perhaps the most underrated benefit of autoresponders is that they exist within email marketing, the most profitable channel of marketing. Capterra found that every one dollar spent on email marketing resulted in $44.25 of revenue. So, not only can autoresponders save you a lot of time, but they can also be extremely effective in driving profit for your business. Of course, there are two sides to everything and autoresponders are no exception: they have some limitations. If you don’t understand these limitations and take appropriate action, you will end up with autoresponders that suck. Remember that an autoresponder is just a tool. It’s how you use it that counts. One marketer … [Read more...] about A Step-by-Step Guide to Creating an Autoresponder
A Quick Guide to Improving Your Event Email Marketing
You may feel stuck when it comes to getting creative with email marketing. It can start to feel like every time you host an event you’re putting out the same type of email over and over. While people do like consistency and predictability to a certain extent, they too get tired of seeing the same event email over and over. So what are you to do? The reason people get stuck because they don’t expand on their already great ideas and develop them further. In this article, I want to give you a step-by-step guide to improving your email marketing for a specific event. Step One: Multiple Emails People tend to respond well to event information spread out over multiple emails rather than one email containing all of the information all at once. This is understandable on your end as well, as you may have new information that comes along as the planning progresses. In fact, it is very likely that you will come across new information the entire time you are planning, so tell them! If … [Read more...] about A Quick Guide to Improving Your Event Email Marketing
Internal Linking Guide to Boost Your SEO
When it comes to on-page SEO, one of the most important, yet often misunderstood, concepts is internal linking. In this ultimate guide, I will explain the importance of internal linking as well as share six best practices and tips to help you get started. In the world of search engine optimization (SEO), the majority of the focus is on backlinks and building relationships with high authority websites to boost your site rankings. However, most people totally forget about the power you have within your own website. Yes, I’m talking about internal links. If you don’t have an internal linking strategy, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to boost your SEO efforts and simultaneously create a more user-friendly website experience for your visitors. In the most basic sense, an internal link connects one of your website pages to another. Generally speaking, internal linking has three primary purposes: Helps facilitate smooth website navigation Clearly defines the … [Read more...] about Internal Linking Guide to Boost Your SEO
A Social Media Marketing Guide for Non-Profits
Holidays such as Christmas, 4th of July, Easter, Black History Month, and St. Patrick’s day are the perfect time for non-profit marketing campaigns. Typically, people feel more giving on holidays or are more likely to join a cause. Considering what is possible with social media today, there are no limits to how far your marketing campaigns will go. There are many paid marketing options on social media that are extremely useful to non-profits. For instance, you can target people who frequently buy online on Facebook before Christmas and ask for donations payable with their Amazon account. You could also use Facebook to show ads to people who are donors in specific categories. Besides paid social media campaigns, many non-profits also build strong campaigns based on status updates, photos, videos, tweets, and other content that can be posted or promoted for free. Whether you are opting for paid or free marketing campaigns for your non-profit, there are a couple of best practices to … [Read more...] about A Social Media Marketing Guide for Non-Profits
Guide to Google ranking factors – Part 6: Trust, Authority and Expertise
It concentrated on ‘duplicate content and syndication’ and the practical ways you can ensure your webpages are passing on PageRank and not being ignored by Google. This week we dive into trust signals, paying particular attention to Google’s Page Quality Rating. Page Quality Rating Last year, Google published an extensive document laying out exactly what it looks for when it comes to evaluating your search quality. In order to work out your Page Quality Rating, Google takes into account the following most important factors: Main content quality and amount Website information/information about who is responsible for the website Website reputation Expertise, authoritativeness, trustworthiness We’ve already looked at ‘quality content’ in a previous instalment of this guide, so let’s explore the remaining three elements: trust, authority and expertise. Authority As stated in our article on what is an authority website? An authority website is a … [Read more...] about Guide to Google ranking factors – Part 6: Trust, Authority and Expertise
Your Guide to Structured Snippets for SEO
Google is known for its commitment to continually improving and refining its search results, from making regular updates to the ranking algorithm, to the format of the results that appear. Rich snippets, the informational text lines that appear beneath the heading of every search result, recently underwent an upgrade in the form of “structured snippets,” a more fact-driven format for certain search queries. Google’s intention is to provide users the best possible Web experience, and in this case, that means giving users some of the information they need before they even click the link. As a collaborative effort between Google Research and WebTables research teams, structured snippets are going to change the way people find information on the Web, and you’ll need to adjust your optimization strategies as a result. What Are Rich Snippets and Structured Snippets? First, it’s important that we define exactly what “rich snippets” and … [Read more...] about Your Guide to Structured Snippets for SEO